Moving Experience

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lizziedog1

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I mentioned this in another thread.

I was waiting in a doctor's office yesterday and I grabbed an outdoor magazine. There was an article listing the top 200 places for sportsman to live. Number one on the list was Bend, Oregon.

I wasn't able to read much more as I was called into the exam room.

That got me to thinking about places that would be good and not so good for hunters and shooters to live.

Would you recommend the area you live in to other sportsman?

Yes, gun laws are part of the equation, but other things need to be looked at. Is there easy access to public shooting and hunting areas? Is there any game? What is the general attitude about shooting sports amongst the folks in your neck of the woods? Does your area have good gun shops and gunsmiths?

I would absolutely recommend my area to any serious gun enthusiast. Gun laws around here are minimal. This area is surrounded by public land. Conversations about guns and hunting are common too.

My area does have some drawbacks. One must drive a good distance to reach any type of sporting goods store. If you wake up to go hunting and need some ammo ASAP, you are out of luck. In the summer it gets pretty hot and dry around here, makes for uncomfortable daytime shooting activities.

So, would you recommend your area?
 
I live in an area that's a paradise for sportsman. From trophy trout fishing to some of the best elk hunting. One draw back to the hunting is the lottery system Co. has.

Then again perhaps thats why its a paradise?
 
Yes, we live in a great place for hunting and shooting even though it is in California.

We have a huge BLM area just a few miles east of us for recreational shooting as well as pig and deer hunting. Just north of us is the Mendocino National Forest that includes the Snow Mountain Wilderness Area as well as the Trinity Alps. There are miles and miles of roads that criss-cross these areas (except the Wilderness areas where you have to pack in).

Very gun and hunting friendly area, good gunshops and 'smiths. We have a very active and solidly entrenched gun club (Ukiah Rifle and Pistol Club) just northeast of town that provides excellent shooting ranges for rifle, pistol and shotgun. Annual dues allows access anytime during daylight hours with a combo-gate lock. Everybody we know around here is generally gun-friendly, owns guns or likes to hear about our shooting pastime. I've introduced shooting to several of our friends who now own guns and belong to the URPC.

Our county (Mendocino) and the adjacent county to the east (Lake) are basically "shall issue" as far as CCW. My wife and I have had our licenses for about 10 years now.

My three kids (20, 22, 23 y.o.) all have guns and we shoot together often. My wife's son (my step-son) has rifles and shotguns and hunts more than the rest of us put together. A little venison on the barby?

Wife's grandkids are hunters and shooters, just went pheasant hunting the other day. They won't share their birds with us the pesky little twerps. I understand, they don't get any of our venison either. Just family fun.

You go one county south (Sonoma) and you would think you were within shouting distance of San Francisco. Over-built and non-gun friendly generally, one needs to be discrete about gun ownership, shooting and hunting. It wasn't always that way, a few decades ago and it wasn't much different than us up here. We enjoy the envy and just smile back at them.

At times I shop the gun shops in Santa Rosa. If I find a handgun I want I love pulling out my CCW license just to watch the gun shop owners drool a bit (as well as any customers within earshot). They can usually smell me coming in though since I probably have some farm manure on the soles of my shoes.

It's all good.

Dan
 
Fairfax Country, Virginia?

Well, if you're in the more rural parts of the county towards Loudon, then of definitely yes. Up around where I live in the DC suburbs area close to NRA headquarters, then not really. Just about any ranges there are indoor affairs. The NRA range doesn't even rent guns (I've never really understood why or forgiven them)! You have to be 21 to rent guns and getting to long distance outdoor ranges is a pain. However, there is a state park called the Bull Run Shooting Center. They're pretty good and offer rather nice rates on all sorts of shotgun things, just nothing tactical. You're welcome to use their ammo or your own ammo. You can bring your own gun too. The arms they rent there are double barrel O/U shotguns from a variety of manufacturers. The one my dad used was made by Browning while mine from from CZ.

Baltimore County, Maryland?

Unless your definition of sport includes stretching the definition of going to or from a range, or getting into shootouts with drug gangs, then not at all!
 
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California??? I beg to differ.

No easy CCW.

Ridiculous prices on everything to include guns and ammo. Seems like everything gun related is nearly 50% more in cost, and requires a waiting period for at least hand guns.

Anti-gun policies around every corner.

No FTF transactions without going through FFL.

No thanks. Probably 45 better states to live in for shooting sports.

I've lived in several and could personally recommend Tennessee, Kentucky, Colorado (with the exception that they recently closed the FTF "loophole" I think), Washington State, Virginia, Georgia...
 
St Louis, MO. Gateway to everywhere, good-ish gun laws (especially when you get outside St Louis County) and lots of hunting area close by.
 
leadcounsel said:
California??? I beg to differ.

No easy CCW.

Ridiculous prices on everything to include guns and ammo. Seems like everything gun related is nearly 50% more in cost, and requires a waiting period for at least hand guns.

Anti-gun policies around every corner.

No FTF transactions without going through FFL.

No thanks. Probably 45 better states to live in for shooting sports.

I've lived in several and could personally recommend Tennessee, Kentucky, Colorado (with the exception that they recently closed the FTF "loophole" I think), Washington State, Virginia, Georgia...
Click to expand...

I'm glad the rest of the country feels this way. It keeps people from moving here which is fine with me. We'll keep it to ourselves and enjoy every bit of it.

Dan
 
I live in S.E. WI... Plenty of shooting and hunting areas and lakes for fishing (I live on one of the lakes). And as WI has just recently passed it's new Concealed Carry Law along with a new "Castle Doctine" law, YES, I would recommend S.E WI to any sporstman (that is if they could handle the winters....:neener:

Oh yea.... "Up North" (Northern WI.) is even better...

Outdoorsman1
 
I'm glad the rest of the country feels this way. It keeps people from moving here which is fine with me. We'll keep it to ourselves and enjoy every bit of it.
Click to expand...

Also beg to differ on this point. One-fifth of the population of the US lives in CA, which drives gas prices, insurance prices, automobile prices, hospital and healthcare prices, housing prices, and everything else up...

Let's not forget that it's nearly bankrupt.

A beautiful state, that offers wonderful weather, beaches, wine, mountains, skiing, etc. YES. As for guns and politics, and even overcrowding, no thanks.
 
Nope. Crappy gun lawn in NY, copy cat AWB and pistol permits (I'm under 21, no pistols anyway). Gun stores are few and far between and pretty expensive. The scenery is really nice here though, lots of woods and great places to go hiking. The outdoors are beautiful but the shooting sports are frowned upon by most people I talk to. I would rather live out west and after college the great outdoors will probably play a role in where I go. The winters are not so fantastic here and they have been really bad the last few years.
 
yes i would

kentucky is a gun lovers paradise gun laws are easy to get along with plenty of places to shoot lots of hunting and fishing I love my state:D
oh and by the way if you have a ccw from kentucky it's not just for handguns it covers any deadly weapon switch blades,slap jacks brass knuckles,lead pipes what ever it's all good here
 
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Not in Montana. No deer, no elk, nor any bears, wolves, moose, birds....uh...ok, I lied. Ten years ago I left Colorado so I could live in NW Montana. Huge amount of public land. Gun laws are very friendly. The only drawback is it is a tad expensive to live here.
 
Pretty much anywhere in the state of New Mexico. Tons of BLM/State land everywhere. Tons of stuff to hunt, State/county ran gun ranges, Open carry any gun, Conceal carry without permit in home/land/car. No limits on NFA items. No gun registration, state issued conceal carry permits. Very pro gun state overall.
 
leadcounsel said:
Also beg to differ on this point. One-fifth of the population of the US lives in CA, which drives gas prices, insurance prices, automobile prices, hospital and healthcare prices, housing prices, and everything else up...

Let's not forget that it's nearly bankrupt.

A beautiful state, that offers wonderful weather, beaches, wine, mountains, skiing, etc. YES. As for guns and politics, and even overcrowding, no thanks.
Click to expand...

I'm not trying to convince YOU or anyone else to move here. I simply (and honestly) answered the OP's question. I've lived here for 58 of my 62 years and I wouldn't live in any other state or country (well, except Sweden, but that is another story).

So enough, already. We're happy here and those I've asked to visit love it here too.

And this is just my humble opinion.

Dan
 
You will find many responses I have made here giving California a bad time.

I spent four and a half decades of my life there. I now live next door. Am I happy being here? You bet!!! Would I ever go back? No way!!!

But, California does have areas that are gun friendly and offer hunting opportunities. Don't paint all of the Golden State with a broad brush.

You have all seen the blue and red electoral college maps. The color red always seems to dominate as far as area goes. Unfortunately, population centers dominate the blue areas.

There is also similar maps of how California votes by counties. Red greatly overshadows blue on those maps. Again, sorry to say, the blue counties have the people.

I think Nevada and California should do a trade. California gets Clark County, we get Sierra, Alpine, Shasta, Modoc, and all the other Northern counties is a straight up deal. We'll even throw in a Senator at no extra cost.;)
 
The point is that all of California follows the state laws for many things, and the state rises or falls as a result of the totality of the state policies and laws.

Why would ANYONE that likes guns choose to live in a state that has no FTF transactions and also requires waiting periods and no shall issue CCW when there are like 40 states that are better? For gun owners, it makes no sense.
 
Ok Kidz, I'm a bit worried here....'cuz I haven't seen Florida mentioned yet. Which is where I wanna move to next year.

What gives?......:D
 
No. Not enough places to shoot outside of private farmland. I have a couple spots, but that's about it, and they are conditional.
Click to expand...
Same here in Illinois. It's also difficult being a rifle enthusiast here. Go into most any gun shop and 60-70% of the guns on the racks are shotguns. The only thing that most people care to shoot at around here is deer and clays.
 
South Dakota is, IMO, a paradise for outdoor lovers. Gun laws aren't intrusive, CCW permits are easily had, and the the hunting and fishing are virtually limitless. We have the best pheasant hunting in the world, and world class walleye and smallmouth fishing on the Missouri River. We can hunt elk and deer, pronghorns and bighorns, grouse and waterfowl. Public land is abundant, as is acessible private land if you're willing to make the contacts. Best of all, especially in western SD, our population density is extremely low. Its not at all uncommon not to see another hunter or fisherman during a day afield. I couldnt wait to get out of this state when I "grew up". However, by the time I grew up, I realized I had absolutely NO reason to leave, and a million or so to stay! AS a shooter, hunter, and fisherman, I can think of very few places that share the opprotunites I have here. I mean, earlier this month, I shot a 5x5 whitetail on Saturday, and caught darn near a dozen walleyes the next monday. Thats the life i like living!!!
 
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Pennsylvania, very pro-gun and pro-hunting. Except Philadelphia of course, which should be cut off from the rest of the state and made part of NJ.
 
To say that South Carolina is gun-friendly is an understatement, CCW permits are not hard to obtain, and you can own/hunt with a suppressor. Most folks have at least one person in their family that owns a gun, guns ownership is really that common here. We even had a tax free holiday on gun purchases, they called it Second Amendment weekend.

As far as hunting and fishing, we have the longest most liberal rifle season for whitetail deer in the nation, (4 months long in most counties, limits are 2 bucks a day, and 1 doe on either sex days, and you can purchase doe tags for non-days) We sit at the lower end of the Southeastern flyway so we do get some good duck hunting and we are in abundance of wooducks. Quail, Dove hunting, we only have spring Turkey season but our wild turkey population is at all time highs. Hogs are almost everywhere and since like most places its a non-game animal so they can be hunted year round.

We have a great lake and river systems for freshwater, and a coastline for deep sea saltwater, also the saltwater marshes make great places for fishing.

I think Charleston,SC has been on that list before, but honestly the whole state is great place to be a shooter and hunter.
 
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